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Tag: BoI

  • BoI: ‘We ‘ve recovered 95% SME loans’

    BoI: ‘We ‘ve recovered 95% SME loans’

    The Bank of Industry (BoI) said it has recovered 95 per cent of its loan dedicated to small and medium scale enterprises (SMEs), its acting  Managing Director, Waheed Olagunju has said.

    He added that despite insufficient funds, the bank has been able to galvanise SMEs into becoming active in driving the economy.

    Olagunju, while speaking with reporters in Abuja yesterday after the adjournment of an investigative hearing organised by the House of Representatives Adhoc Committee investigating activities of Federally Owned Development Finance Institutions (FDIs) in Abuja, however noted that the bank has the capacity to boost the economy and pull the country out of recession if properly funded.

    According to him, though the bank was also privately funded through the World Bank, African Development Bank (AfDB) and a number of foreign banks, it was able to execute its mandate from N10billion out of N100billion it was promised by the Federal Government since 2007.

    He said: “We got six-year intervention fund of N535billion from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) running from 2010 and the performance of our loan is 95 per cent which is over above the CBN threshold of five per cent and industry average of 11 per cent.”

    “What does this mean? It means that we are mindful of our responsibilities and the SMEs too were equally responsible.

    “With the recovery of our loans being up-to-date, the bank has been able to provide enabling environment for businesses to thrive with strong monitoring mechanism.

    “This is because government alone cannot do all that it takes to revive the economy without the inputs of private sector operators.

    “Government cannot do much to reflate the economy except private investors bring in money. They are the ones who can help the economy out of recession. Government is just to catalise.

    “That is why the industrialisation drive of the current administration should be encouraged because industrialisation is a multi-faceted process that can’t be done by government alone.

    “When investors come in, how they are treated at our embassies in their country when seeking for visas matters a lot. How the airport security treat them? How the taxi driver and hotel receptionists receive them in Nigerian and lastly, how bureaucrats handle their files while pushing for investment opportunities all determine whether they bring in the money or not.”

  • BoI disburses over N30m to MSMEs in Osun

    The Bank of Industry (BoI) has disbursed over N30 million to youths in Osun State under its partnership with Oduduwa Foundation, to support and empower entrepreneurs with viable business plans that can drive economic development in the state.

    The Development Finance Institution (DFI) said the 20 beneficiaries of its first phase of the N1 billion Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) development fund, a partnership of BoI and the House of Oduduwa, had undergone capacity training programmes on services and value addition, mainly in the agro-processing sector, within the last six months.

    The organisation explained that the training is to enable the beneficiaries put the funds to judicious and effective use, while also adding value to the nation’s natural endowments. The acting Managing Director, BoI, Waheed Olagunju, during the Ooni of Ife’s first year coronation anniversary, urged the beneficiaries to work hard in order to succeed.

    “These are the beneficiaries for the first phase of the N1 billion Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) development fund headed by the Ooni himself; so they have been substantially de-risked. We believe strongly that about 80 or 90 per cent of those who were given cheques today would succeed given the capacity building programme they have undergone,” he said.

    The Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi, lauded BoI’s move to equip youths in the state with the necessary tools and support, aimed at ensuring that they become productive in the society, saying that this would go a long way to address youth restiveness in the country.

    “This is the time we must collaborate with the government and stop the blame game. We must focus more on how we can take advantage of our abundant natural resource endowments to put us back in our pride of place as a great nation,” he said.

  • BoI unveils N10b agro-equipment loan scheme

    BoI unveils N10b agro-equipment loan scheme

    The Bank of Industry (BoI), in collaboration with its development partners, has unveiled a-N10billion agro-equipment loan for agricultural service providers and farmers.

    The bank said with better access to credit to fund the acquisition of agro equipment, there would be improved efficiency and production output in the sector.

    Its Acting Managing Director/CEO, Waheed Olagunju said applicants under  the scheme are categorised into micro, small and medium schemes.

    Olagunju, who spoke yesterday in Abuja at the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the bank and its development partners on the agro mechanisation product programme, said: “Recognising the catalytic role that agro mechanisation plays in boosting food production, BoI in collaboration with the Development Partners, has designed a product programme to provide finance for agro equipment service providers and well established farmers as well,” adding thatThere will be improved efficiency and production output in the agricultural sector.

    “It is a N10billion fund earmarked exclusively for the acquisition of agro-equipment by either agricultural service providers or well established farmers. N10billion is the largest amount of money that the bank has earmarked for any programme and this is testimony to the importance of agro mechanisation in economic development of Nigeria.”

  • Afenifere opposes BoI scrapping

    Afenifere opposes BoI scrapping

    The pan-Yoruba socio-cultural group, Afenifere has kicked against the proposed repeal of the Bank of Industry (BoI), the Bank for Commerce and Industry Act and the National Economic Reconstruction Fund Act which has passed second reading.

    The group is opposed to the bill sponsored by Senator Ibrahim Gobir, for an Act to establish the National Development Bank, 2015.It seeks to bring the total assets of the organisations under one body to be called the National Development Bank. The group said it is worried because the bill has passed the second reading in the Senate since October 12 and had been committed to the Senate Committee on Banking, Insurance and other Financial Bodies for further works.

    Its Publicity Secretary, Yinka Odumakin, said the suspicious plan, which has the support of CBN and Ministry of Finance, is curious noting that it is only in Nigeria that politics takes precedence over development. He queried the rationale behind the logic when Bol is known to have provided succour for many businesses especially in this difficult days of recession.

    He called on the government to provide Bol with more capital to further support the real sector instead of duplicating functions by creating new development finance institutions, bearing in mind the failure of similar Development Finance Institutions in the past, such as the People’s Bank, Community Banks and others.

  • BoI backs SecureID’s 200m capacity SIMcard plant

    The Bank of Industry (BoI) is supporting Secure ID, a smart card manufacturing outfit. The plant which was inaugurated over the weekend, has capacity to produce  200million SIMcards

    The firm delved into the telecoms sector in its diversification and backward integration initiative to drive local export.  SecureID currently holds a global endorsement to service the huge network of SIMcard users  across 19 countries in Africa.

    BoI’s Acting Managing Director, Waheed Olagunju who applauded the investment decision of the company, said the venture was supported by the Development Finance Institution, based on its potential to positively impact domestic consumption, aid technology transfer and advance employment opportunitty in the sector.

    He said: “When we support projects, we do not only look at the financial viability of such projects, we look at the potential development impact and the multiplier effect. The facility we have commissioned today is the first of its kind in Africa -the production of SIM cards that are hitherto imported.

    “That speaks to import substitution which means we will be preserving foreign exchange. There is also in – country technology and know-how that would be transferred in the process.”

    The Minister of Trade, Investment & Industry, Okechukwu Enelamah, described the facility as a world class standard, reiterating government’s dedication to deepen partnership with the private sector to realise its goals in the aspects of diversification, job creation and industrialisation. He expressed confidence in the entrepreneurial spirit of Nigerians, stating that a conducive business atmosphere and necessary financial support can reveal their prowess.

    He said: “One of the things we need to get right is the whole area of enabling environment. Creating the right investment climate, ease of doing business for the private sector for  Nigerian businesses to prosper.

    “We are very committed in the area of financing. I want to acknowledge BoI for their support for Secure ID and many other players. They have our full support to actually assist the industrialisation of Nigeria. We will be backing the likes of BoI and even the development bank that is coming up.”

    Unveiling the SecureID SIMCard brand, Minister of Communications, Wahab Shittu said efforts within the telecoms sphere would be garnered to ensure that home-grown companies thrive.

  • Who wants BoI dead?

    The Nigerian Senate last week opened a public hearing on its intention to harmonise the functions of development finance institutions in the country towards the establishment of an apex finance house, the National Development Bank of Nigeria.

    The lawmakers are considering a bill to establish the National Development Bank of Nigeria. The drafter of the bill wants the proposed bank to provide loans to small, medium and large industrial enterprises with five to ten-year maturity, with a grace period of one to three years depending on the enterprise. The bank will also provide working capital loans to eligible enterprises where projects are unable to secure a loan from the banking system; the loans could be in naira or foreign currencies depending on the source of available funds for the requirement of the eligible enterprise or project.

    The House of Representatives, acting the same script, has raised a committee to examine the modus operandi of state-owned development finance institutions, DFIs. Listed for periscope are the Bank of Industry, Bank of Agriculture, Nigeria Export -Import Bank, Nigeria Export Promotion Council, Small and Medium Scale Enterprises Development Agency, National Economic Reconstruction Fund and Federal Mortgage Bank.

    At the inauguration of an ad hoc committee to review the activities of these agencies, the Deputy Speaker, Hon. Yusuf Lasun hinted that the National Assembly was desirous of addressing inefficiency in the system to “achieve their mandate and responsibility.”

    Committee Chairman, Hon. Chukwuma Anohu said, inter alia, “we are confident that the current economic recession being experienced in the country can be reversed within the shortest possible time if the DFIs are made to live up to their statutory mandates, herein lies the impetus and imperative of our extant assignment.”

    The foregoing may be described as diversionary and a cheap avenue to make the lawmakers look serious in tackling the economic challenges facing the country. The National Assembly ought to think out of the box in suggesting better strategies to revive the economy, create jobs and make the young, vibrant population more productive.

    While the lawmakers beat about the bush, the performance of BoI this year speaks volume. The records can be interrogated across the country. Before we look at the specifics, this financial year, international and domestic rating agencies have upgraded the bank, to affirm its viability and effectiveness in discharging its core mandates. Specifically, Moody’s upgraded the bank from Ba3 to Aa1 while Augusto & Co rated it AA- up from A+. Two years running, BoI has maintained AA+ in FitchRatings.

    Experts have interpreted these ratings to be a measure of confidence in the viability of BoI. Mr. John Akigbe, a development economist said: “The bank recognised as being able to meet its commitments to its lenders. They expect it to be in business for the long haul. It is rated as a stable institution because of the likelihood of government support.”

    So what are the facts behind the ratings of BoI?

    The Buhari administration has identified agriculture and solid minerals as templates to diversify the economy. The diversification space thrown open by the administration in agriculture, solid minerals and petroleum resources industries has the capacity to overhaul the ailing economy to accomplish the job creation vision of government if well incorporated and sustained.

    In the past one year, the BoI has aggressively and consistently stayed on the right track, providing financial leverage in creating or energising large, medium and small enterprises; as well as expansion, diversification and transformation of existing enterprises; and rehabilitation of ailing industries.

    At its 56th Annual General Meeting, the acting Managing Director of BoI, Mr. Waheed Olagunju unveiled plans to disburse N212 billion to support job creation in 2016 alone, focusing on financial liability, developmental impact and social development of the country.

    Indeed, the bank has partnered various local and international development organisations and many states, assisting them with acquisition of cognate skills and capital to realise their business goals and attain its national development goal.  A few weeks ago, it sealed an MOU with Laurel School of Mines to train 1600 entrepreneurs in gemstone cutting and polishing; a move that will engage the youths and create many jobs at the local level.

    Through its Youth Entrepreneurship Support programme, YES – Project, the BoI launched a N10 billion grant in 2016 to assist youths to start and aid their businesses. The project was part of the Federal Government’s youth employment scheme, a platform from which about 36,000 jobs were mapped out to be created annually.

    In collaboration with the National Youth Service Corps, BoI has a scheme for serving corps members for its Graduate Entrepreneurship Fund (GEP – Project). The initiative is a special N2 billion empowerment programme for serving NYSC members to draw loan facilities of between N500,000 and N1 million at 9 percent interest rate and it has three-five years repayment plan with 6-12 months moratorium. This is a deliberate effort to encourage serving graduates participating in the NYSC to venture early into business and be employers of labour.

    At the Senate hearing, Olagunju, emphasised that the bank as currently constituted is living up to its mandates which he said were not different from the objectives contained in the proposed bill. Instead scrapping BoI, he wants the federal government to inject more capital to enable it further support the real sector instead of duplicating functions by creating a new outfit.

    “We are of the opinion that BoI as presently constituted is fulfilling the mandate envisaged in the proposed legislation by supporting genuine entrepreneurs. Therefore, it should be left to continue its operations as it is. The merger envisaged in the proposed bill has already taken place.

    “We advise that the National Assembly support industrialisation by enacting legislations that would help create an enabling environment for business to thrive such as an amendment to Land Use Act, tax incentives for SMES, establishment of industrial Park. This would substantially address the demand side challenges of finance SMEs in Nigeria as vagaries of the business environment has been making the sector unattractive to private and public lenders,” Olagunju said.

    That is a wise counsel for our lawmakers and all policy makers.

    • Kareem is a Communications consultant, based in Abuja

     

  • Olagunju against Senate’s moves to scrap BoI

    Olagunju against Senate’s moves to scrap BoI

    The Acting Managing Director, Bank of Industry (BoI), Waheed Olagunju, yesterday kicked against the proposal  by the Senate, to abolish the bank.

    In the place of BoI, the chamber is seeking to establish the National Development Bank of Nigeria (NDBN).

    Olgunju who spoke passionately against the proposal at a public hearing on “A Bill for the establishment of the National Development Bank of Nigeria,” was emphatic that was ill-advised.

    The hearing was organised by Senate Committee on Banking, Insurance and Other Financial Institutions.

    Olagunju noted that there was no doubt that BoI as presently constituted was already fulfilling the mandate envisaged in the proposed legislation.

    He said instead of scrapping BoI, government should provide more capital for the bank to be able to further support the real sector.

    He noted that instead of duplicating functions by creating new Development Financial Institution (DFI), steps should be taken to further strengthen the BoI to perform its function far better.

    Olgunju said: “We are of the opinion that BoI as presently constituted is fulfilling the mandate envisaged in the proposed legislation by supporting genuine entrepreneurs, therefore, it should be left to continue its operations as it is.

    “The merger envisaged in the proposed bill has already taken place. BoI should be provided with more capital to be able to further support the real sector instead of duplicating functions by creating new DFIS, bearing in mind the failure of similar DFIs in the past such as NBCI, NERFUND, People’s Bank and Community Banks.

    “We advise that the National Assembly support industrialisation by enacting legislation that would help create an enabling environment for business to thrive such as an amendment to land Use Act, tax incentives for SMES, establishment of Industrial Park.

    “This would substantially address the demand side challenges of finance SMEs in Nigeria as vagaries of the business environment has been making the sector unattractive to private and public lenders.

  • BoI disburses N5b to 242 entrepreneurs

    BoI disburses N5b to 242 entrepreneurs

    The Bank of Industry (BoI) said it has so far disbursed over N5billion to support 242 entrepreneurs in different sectors in the Northcentral region.

    Its Acting Managing  Director, Mr. Waheed Olagunju, who disclosed this during the BoI 2016 North Central Region Customer Forum in Abuja, with  Nigeria’s Industrialisation–Our Collective Responsibility as its theme, said the forum was organised to interface with customers in the region.

    Represented by the bank’s  Divisional Head, SMEs-North,  Mr. Omar Shekarau,  the acting MD said:  “The bank has so far disbursed N1.5billion to 62 agro processing Small Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in the Northcentral, while the N5billion loan is supporting the SMEs from other sectors in the same region.

    “So far, BoI has disbursed over N5billion to our customers in the Northcentral region comprising FCT, Nassarawa, Kogi, Benue and Niger states. In the current year, we have funded small businesses in the region.”

    Olagunju commended customers in the region for their effective utilisation of the funds in their care.

    Also speaking at the forum, the representative of the Country Director, United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO), Mr. Francis Ukoh, stressed the need to develop the capacity SMEs operators in the country.

  • Fitch affirms BoI’s sovereign rating stable

    Fitch affirms BoI’s sovereign rating stable

    Fitch Ratings has re-affirmed the national ratings of the Bank of Industry (BoI) as stable in outlook.

    Fitch had last year downgraded Nigeria’s Long-Term Local Currency Issuer Default Rating (IDR) to ‘B+’ from ‘BB-’, as a result of which it is now equalised.

    The agency further noted that BoI’s ratings were retained because its operations were solely in local currency.

    According to Fitch, the IDRs of BoI, a state-owned policy bank, are driven by its SRF of ‘B+’ and reflect a limited probability of sovereign support.

    “The IDRs of BoI, a state-owned policy bank, are driven by its SRF of ‘B+’ and reflect a limited probability of sovereign support. They consider its 99.9 per cent state ownership, policy role and strategic importance to Nigeria’s economic and industrial development.

    “They also consider the authorities’ stronger ability to support BoI than commercial banks, as BoI’s operations are solely in local currency. BoI’s Long-Term IDR has a stable outlook, reflecting the stable outlook on the sovereign rating.

    “BoI’s IDRs, SR and SRF are sensitive to a weakening in Nigeria’s ability to support the bank, which would be indicated by a downgrade of Nigeria’s sovereign rating,” it said.

    A statement from Fitch added that the ratings could also be downgraded if its view of the state’s willingness to support the bank changes adversely, for example if there is a material change in the government ownership or a change in the bank’s policy role. This is not Fitch’s base case.

    BoI, however, maintained that it remained very virile and better repositioned to push the frontier of the nation’s industrial sector through aggressive business financing.

    On the rating of other banks, Fitch noted that it is monitoring the banks’ ability to meet maturing foreign-currency obligations. “In the current difficult market conditions, Fitch believes the banks are facing challenges to refinance existing obligations and/or obtain foreign exchange from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to meet maturing obligations.

  • BoI partners Olu Jacobs, Joke Silva on Heartbeat the Musical

    BoI partners Olu Jacobs, Joke Silva on Heartbeat the Musical

    Having assisted filmmakers and fashion designers through different funding schemes, the Bank of Industry (BoI) continues its support for the creative industry, the latest being a stage performance produced by veteran actors and couple, Olu Jacob and Joke Silva, titled Heartbeat The Musical.

    A series of 28 shows spread across 19 days, the theatrical masterpiece, is anchored on the fictional Grace House, a well-known shelter for the homeless, where the play explores the themes of love, hate, betrayal, family, identity, politics, homelessness and social justice through music and dance .

    Depicting the everyday life and political terrain in Nigeria, ‘Heartbeat’ makes an effective portrayal of happenstances in the society with such theatrical presentation that had the audience glued to their seats for more than one hour, cheering the cast for great acting and elevated musical dialogues as the characters converge in and around Grace House in search of refuge and atonement.

    Speaking at the November 17th show at the Agip Recital Hall, MUSON Center, Lagos, Bank of Industry’s Director of Large Enterprises, Mr. Babatunde Joseph said the play was worth his while.

    He said: “It’s a very splendid evening and we are glad to be a part of this theatrical show, particularly when you look at the environment; a little bit of pressure, a little bit of tension. There is indeed the need to relax after the hard day’s job. There must be a good mix of work and play.

    Joseph talked about why his company is at the forefront of support for the creative industry, craving the indulgence of other investors to do the same.

    “I believe there is a tremendous opportunity for investment in the creative industry.  You can see with what has happed tonight, especially talking about the turn out even though this is a weekday. The creative industry is the place to put one’s money and we expect that the return will be worth it at the end of the day. You will be surprised that it is even during recession that people tend to embrace the creative activities even more because we really need to find a way to relax; we need to find a way to network and also an avenue where we can meet different people, including people we haven’t met in a long time. For me, I believe that investing in the creative industry will be a very good way of putting one’s money. And of course it also helps in reducing the state of unemployment. You can imagine how many of them participated in this programme today. At least they would have been empowered, and this is the kind of empowerment that we believe the creative industry should create so that people can have some money in their pocket.”

    Other officials of the bank at the show include Mrs. Uche Nwuka, Head of Creative Desk and Mrs Hadiza Olaosebikan, Head of Communications.

    Written by Tosin Otudeko and Debo Oluwatuminu, and directed by Najite Dede, Heartbeat The Musical is a tale of hope. The songs are original compositions, written by Tosin Otudeko and produced by Efosa Lawal.

    The play parades not less than 33 cast and 10 crew members, including popular actor, Femi Jacobs, who plays the role of JD Dacoster, the corrupt politician who seeks atonement in the end.